Melissa Laing

Melissa Laing (she/her) is an Associate Lecturer in Social Work and Human Services and the Gender and Social Change theme co-lead in the Social Equity Research Centre (or SERC). 

Melissa is a social work researcher with a passion for the interconnected nature of human and nonhuman wellbeing. Her PhD research is centred on the Human-Animal Bond and its implications for human services practice with marginalised groups, with a particular focus on the intersection between gender-based violence, animal abuse and poverty. 

Melissa is also passionate about enhancing social work pedagogy with the addition of post-anthropocentric, intersectional approaches that interrogate the anthropocentrism of contemporary service delivery. She has been instrumental in building industry partnerships with animal welfare organisations for work-integrated learning in social work, and has supervised social work students in a veterinary hospital and pet therapy settings.

Melissa’s work is transdisciplinary, and she has presented her doctoral research at social work, sociology and animal studies conferences. Her most recent presentation was in September 2023 at the European Conference on Domestic Violence in Reykjavik, Iceland.